#2 on the list of ridiculous state funding asks

A proposal to spend $10.6 million in public money on a 270-foot-tall monument to the Wright Brothers at the intersections of Interstates 70 and 75 hit Number 2 on "Most Ridiculous Request" list from the Buckeye Institute, a conservative think tank.

The Triumph of Flight, which has been in the planning stages for a decade, should not receive public money, said Dennis Cauchon, spokesman for the Buckeye Institute. "Actually, we think it’s a fine idea if privately funded."

Lawmakers are considering what local projects to fund in the upcoming state capital budget bill.

The Buckeye Institute has a list of five pork projects that it says should be rejected for state funding. Also on the list: $50,000 to $100,000 for a curling only ice rink in Bowling Green, $150,000 for a puppet theater in Cincinnati, and $1.6 million to renovate a privately owned professional soccer team stadium in Columbus.

The number one most ridiculous request, according to the Buckeye Institute, will be revealed Wednesday.